One year into the job, the BBC chairman Gavyn Davies has finally caved in to the critics and admitted the BBC needs to return arts programming to the centre of its schedule.

His comments come in response to criticism that since Greg Dyke was appointed director general in 1999, arts programmes have all but disappeared from BBC1 and BBC2.

"We have accepted that the critics have a point and that we should do something to bring the arts back into the centre of the schedule," Mr Davies said.

The BBC chairman backtracked on a controversial remark he made last year when he said that critics who accused the BBC of dumbing down were "southern, white, middle class, middle-aged and well-educated".

"I greatly regret giving the impression that I was either taking our heartland for granted, which I was not, or that I was in favour of dumbing down the BBC, which is exactly the reverse of what I believe.," he said.

The BBC has come under heavy fire for edging out regular arts programmes from the schedules since the early 1990s when a regular nightly slot, The Late Show, fronted by Sarah Dunant and Tracey McLeod, was axed.

The replacement programme, Review, was scheduled just once a week as part of a Sunday night arts zone and is currently screened on Friday nights following Newsnight.

Other programmes such as Bookmark and Close Up have been axed from BBC2 while Omnibus ends this month after 35 years, although the BBC is starting a new 12-part series fronted by Alan Yentob.

Mr Davies also called for greater freedom from regulators and the government for the BBC in the run-up to the corporation's charter renewal in 2006.

He ruled out any radical changes in the BBC's remit as it gears up to secure a new charter in three years' time, but argued that having to seek government approval for innovations such as new digital services has diminished the corporation's independence.

"I sometimes wish the UK would say, 'Here is £2.5bn. That is the right amount. Let them figure out what the best way of serving the public is'," said Mr Davies.

He said the advantages of regulation were "that the private sector feels we will not do unpredictable things and they can build businesses around that predictability".

However, Mr Davies added that the costs are "we cannot choose how to serve the public in as free a manner as we used to in the past".

Winning the new Royal Charter settlement is at the top of Mr Davies' agenda, but he indicated this would be achieved through consolidation rather than major innovation.

"Part of the next Charter is going to be about continuing to deliver on the promises we made five or 10 years ago. I do not see it as a period of radical departures," said Mr Davies in an interview with the Times.

He added that he was determined to ensure the BBC remained "a core and critical part of broadcasting as far as I can see".

Mr Davies also suggested the BBC would focus more on local and national programming against the background of an increasingly global media.

"It may well be that there is a bigger role than ever before as the British Broadcasting Corporation," Mr Davies said.

Other senior BBC executives have indicated that the BBC was considering updating Lord Reith's original public service broadcasting remit, which gave the corporation its mission to "inform, educate and entertain".

The BBC's director of television, Jana Bennett, said recently the BBC's campaign for the renewal of its charter was about "creating new values".

When Mr Dyke launched the "Making it Happen" campaign in early 2002, he said the corporation should add a fourth goal to the three Reithian principles - of connecting with different audiences.

Mr Davies said he considered the launch of the new free-to-air digital service Freeview to be the corporation's greatest success of last year.

"Without Freeview I think it would have been extremely difficult to maintain the view that digital services were going to become universally available," Mr Davies said.